Indian Army Day | 15 Jan 2020

Why in News

Army Day is celebrated every year on 15th January in India to commemorate the jawans and the Indian Army.

  • The Army Day celebrations, which began in 1949, will be observed for the 72nd time in 2020.
  • Army Day is celebrated to mark Lt Gen K M Carriappa taking over as commander-in-chief of the Indian Army in 1949 from General Francis Butcher, the last British commander-in-chief of India.
  • The Indian Army was established on April 1, 1895. It’s motto is
  • "Service before self."
  • Difference in 2020
    • The Army Day parade in New Delhi will see for the first time a woman, Captain Tania Shergill, leading an all-men contingent.
    • Apart from the three service chiefs, India’s first chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat will also attend the parade.

Battle of Asal Uttar

  • The battle of Asal Uttar was a very key turning point during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965, which set the course of India’s victory. It was fought from 8th-10th September, 1965.
  • It is described by historians as one of the largest tank battles in history since World War II.
  • Asal Uttar is a village 12 km from the international border with Pakistan in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district.

MQ-9B Sky Guardian

  • It is the next generation Remotely Piloted Aircrafts Systems (RPAS).
  • It is a highly modular aircraft and is rapidly configurable with a variety of payloads and weapons.

Source: IE